Banshee
by Jojo ker
Summary: Melanie thought she would wake up to go to school the next morning, but instead woke up in her favorite video game. With only her knowledge of the game, she must survive Joker's plan. If only she hadn't attracted so much attention... CrocXOC ScarecrowXOC
1. A Wish Come True?

"You've failed. Now suffer!"

The bitter words of Scarecrow flared across a black screen, followed by a flourish of his gauntleted hand. A shriek rang about the room, and a fist came down upon a blue bowl sending popcorn into the air.

"Damn it! He always catches me there!" An exasperated voice complained. The voice belonged to Melanie Muck, a teenage girl sitting upon her floor pouting at the now blank screen. She had been playing Batman Arkham Asylum, and had lost in one of Scarecrow's nightmares.

It had been the fourth time that night that she had been found and lost. Obviously she wasn't happy.

"Mel, get a hold of yourself. It's just a game." The second voice belonged to Monica Decan, who was lounging upon Melanie's bed flipping idly through a magazine. "I know dude, but it still pisses me off!" Melanie sighed, flopping back upon her beds side. The two were having a sleepover to celebrate their last day of summer. Soon they would have to go to bed to wake up early for the next morning.

The tell tale signs off sleepiness were starting to show upon the girl's faces. But Melanie's stubbornness refused to let her rest until she beat Scarecrow. Even now, her appearance was shabby at best. Her black tresses were in disarray, long lines of eyeliner had ran down and stained her cheeks from Florida's constant heat, and dark purple bags had began to develop under her blue eyes.

In all honesty, she looked like hell.

Monica in contrast had neatly combed hair and a washed face. She had already gotten ready for bed and was just staying up to please her friend. She was about ready to pass out.

"Maybe we should get to bed Mel?" she suggested gently, yawning at the end of her sentence.

"I can't until I beat this guy!" Mel argued angrily. She had already begun to guide Batman through Scarecrow's nightmare, hoping her luck would be better this time. "Isn't this the fourth time you've played this game?" "Fifth actually. And I always have trouble on stupid Scarecrow…"

With a roll of her brown eyes, Monica closed her magazine and rested her head on the pillow. "I thought you thought he was hot?" Monica chuckled when she was met with her friends glare.

"He is! If he wasn't so freaking sexy I would hate him." Mel grumbled, fighting against skeletons with Batman's skilled hands. "I swear Mon, I belong in this world." She said, somewhat randomly.

"I agree. I've always thought you belonged in an asylum." Monica replied wryly. She really didn't like it when Mel talked about how she belonged in the world of psychotic clowns, and men who dressed as bats. It had to be unhealthy.

With a glance at the clock resting on her bedside table Mel sighed. Time had already pushed forwards to 12:09 am. In less then six hours they would have to get up to go to school. _Joy…_

She turned her eyes back to the television screen and began to smile as she thought of Arkham Asylum. It housed Gotham's most dangerous criminals; and in its own way it was almost a whole other world separate from Gotham. Populated by the nightmares of all its citizens.

A world she desperately wished she could be a part of it.

To wander the sewers home to Killer Croc, crawl through the vents in Intensive Treatment, maybe even find and solve a few of Riddler's carefully placed puzzles.

But she wasn't dumb. She knew that would never happen. The next day she would be a senior in high school, and then have to continue her boring life again.

With a glance over her shoulder she saw Monica was already asleep, so she didn't mind undressing into a simple white nightgown without going into the bathroom. 'Saved me a useless trip…' she thought, unpausing and resuming her game.

Batman ran through the Scarecrow's distorted world at her careful fingertips. And before long she started to get tired, with the fatigue came clouded vision. Batman was discovered by Scarecrow, and his personalized game over sign came on. Although what Jonathan Crane said didn't match anything he had said before.

"_Sleep tight little bat!"_

Too tired to even get angry, Melanie slumped over onto the floor, already in a deep slumber. But as she slept, the world around her began to change.

_**Ding Da Ding Dong!**_

"_**Has anyone found the bat? We can't just let him walk around freely! He'll ruin everything!"**_

A sharp ringing in her ears awoke Mel from her deep sleep. "Monica… shut up dude." She mumbled, feeling around for a pillow to throw at her noisy friend. She scrunched her face up when she felt something gritty slide under her finger nails instead of feeling a soft pillow.

She opened one of her eyes sleepily to look at what had possibly gotten under her nails. As her vision focused, she saw a brown material under her otherwise clean nails. 'Dirt…?' She thought, picking some out to get a closer look.

The substance lodged under her cuticles was indeed dirt. But how had dirt gotten into her room? She may have been messy, but no that much of a slob. As she looked around more fully awake, she saw hard, ground underneath her, instead of her soft black carpet.

"What the hell…?" She stood slowly, looking around her in shock. She wasn't in her room anymore. She was outside! And judging by the sky and temperature of the air, she wasn't in Florida.

Looking around franticly, she began to panic.

Had she been kidnapped? Sold to some experimental facility? Abducted by aliens?

Her eyes landed abruptly on a large sign, and she couldn't help the curse that fell from her lips. "Fuck no…" She muttered, walking closer and laying a hand on the sign. Written clear as day were the words, "ARKHAM WEST"

"It can't be." Her voice had begun to rise in disbelief. No way was she in Arkham Asylum! That place was fictional. About as real as sparkly vampires and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Melanie stumbled backwards, wincing as rocks and twigs dug into her bare feet. She was in the attire she was in when she had fallen asleep. This meant no shoes, and no protection. 'Thank god I wore a bra to sleep…' She thought morbidly. At least she had some bit of luck.

"I thought I heard something over here!"

Her head snapped to the right in panic. Someone else was coming! Thinking quickly, she ran to the Cliffside nearby and wedged herself between two rocks. Footsteps approached as she tried to calm her rapid breathing and thumping heart. Thinking anything could give away her position.

Two shirtless men came into view; Melanie quickly recognized them as Black Gate prisoners.

One of which was carrying a gun.

The larger of the two was a black man, whose face was painted to look like a clown. The trademark sign of Joker henchmen. He looked around the area with a scowl, probably thinking he was about to find Batman. "I don't see nothing." The other grunted. He was a smaller white man, who had spiked hair and also sported a painted face. In his hand was clenched a shotgun.

Melanie inwardly gulped. These men were armed. If she was found she **would** die. Or worse…

The black man huffed. "I thought I heard a twig break." With a glance down at her feet, Melanie cursed them for being so clumsy.

The white clown gave his friend a rough pat on the back. "You been workin' too hard man. Take a breather." "Yeah, I guess you're right…" With one last suspicious glance around, the two men turned away and began to walk back to their posts. Melanie quickly pushed herself from the rocks and ran towards the opening to Arkham East. In there she could at least find a better hiding spot.

Blinking, the white clown turned and couldn't believe his eyes as he saw a ghostly white figure step _through _the cliff and run into the entrance to Arkham East. He opened his mouth once, then twice, not knowing how to get his point across. He finally decided upon just roughly smacking his friend in the shoulder twice.

"Ace! Ace! Look at that!" He cried, shaken to his core. He was told to handle the bat, not some fucking ghost!

Ace turned, sighing in exasperation. "What is it Kyle?" He snapped, annoyed at his friends spastic hitting. Kyle couldn't even bring himself to explain what he had saw; instead he pointed a shaking finger towards the billowing white figure that had now sprinted into the safety of the passage to Arkham East.

"I-It's a ghost man! A fucking ghost!" he stammered, making a quick cross over his chest. Ace scowled at Kyle. "You lost yo' mind man! It's just one of the Arkham loonies!" Kyle shook his head quickly. "No! It came through the cliff!"

Ace rolled his eyes and snatched the gun from Kyle's hand. "You're goin' psycho." he scoffed, leaving his friend behind as he walked back to his post.

Kyle gave one more glance at the door to Arkham East which was closing. But in the split second it closed, he saw the figure look back at him and through the veil of black hair; a piercing blue eye stared back at him.

With a scream, he ran back to Ace.

Melanie's heart was pounding. She knew the clowns had seen her! She had locked eyes with one for God's sake! So she wasted no time in sprinting towards the end of the passageway. She was happily surprised to see the Inmates hadn't locked it yet.

But towards the entrance to the Arkham East, there were two bodies of Arkham guards strung up from an overhanging rafter. Her stomach churned.

She had seen these bodies before. But seeing them on a screen and seeing them in front of you were two totally different things. Their mouths and eyes were wide open in silent terror, and blood still dripped from fresh gunshot wounds.

"God help you…" She muttered, walking around them slowly. And as the gates in front of her opened, she began to realize the seriousness of the situation. "And God help me too…"

Laid out in front of her were Arkham Mansion and the Botanical Gardens. Both equally dangerous places. But she had to find a place to hide before more clowns came looking for her.

Ignoring the stinging in her feet, she jogged down the passage and toward the Mansion. Sooner or later Aaron Cash would escort Dr. Young into the mansion to find her notes. Maybe then she could seek protection with him.

Glancing left and right, she noted the various clowns walking around the island. Not many were armed; most were using metal pipes as weapons. This was a good sign, and meant the game had not gotten too far along yet. She shoved herself into a bush as she heard the door behind her begin to open.

Two muscular looking clowns walked out, talking quite loudly.

"Did you hear Kyle's crazy story about seein' a ghost?" One chuckled. This piqued her interest, Mel didn't remember there being a ghost at Arkham Asylum. "No I didn't." the other replied, sounding interested as well.

"Well, he says he saw her comin' out of the cliff in Arkham West, and running out here! Said she had black hair and freaky blue eyes." The clown talking began to chuckle. The other clown shuddered. "Dude that's freaky. I hate ghosts…"

"You know Kyle was only seeing shit man. Although I wonder if the ghost was hot." At that, both clowns broke out cackling. Melanie felt her face burn with embarrassment. It took all her restraint to not reach out and trip them as they walked by.

Once they were a safe distance away, she stood and began to think of what they said. Were they talking about her? Unconsciously, she reached up and took a strand of black matted hair between her fingers.

'The clown said black hair and blue eyes…Could that have been the one that saw me?' A sudden thought struck her. She had been hiding between two rocks in the cliff. If someone had turned and saw her unwedge herself from her hiding spot, it would have indeed looked like she had ran out of the cliff.

"They think I'm a ghost…?" She wondered aloud, looking down at her white nightgown. From someone else's perspective she probably looked seriously creepy. Like that girl from The Ring.

Well at least now she had a gimmick to fall back on. But a gimmick wouldn't help her if one of the clowns took a shot at her. Bullets hurt, and getting shot really wasn't on Mel's agenda.

Jogging down the steep hill, she began to work her way towards Arkham Mansion. Clowns were carrying equipment towards Arkham West. Probably to build The Jokers platform on the roof of the Visitor Center.

_**Ding Da Ding Dong**_

"_**I've been hearing rumors of a "ghost" running around Arkham! I want her found and I don't know… exorcised or something."**_

Mel froze at the sound of Joker's voice on the intercom. He was talking about her! How did he hear about her so fast?

'These clowns gossip like freaking teenagers!' She though angrily, noticing the clowns now looking around more then before. It would be harder to get inside the mansion!

When footsteps began to approach, Mel hid in one of the small rooms outside the mansion. By the contents of the room, it was an office. But it was what was sitting on the desk that caught her attention.

It was a shiny, green, question mark shaped trophy.

"A Riddler trophy…" Mel mumbled, walking over and laying her hand on the cool metal. She had spent hours finding all of Riddler's trophies, and riddles when she had first beaten the game. She had hunted down all 240 challenges… but it was no where near as satisfying as finding one for real.

She picked it up gently and almost dropped it when a sudden voice came out of the bottom.

"_Thank the Lord! I thought you'd never find that one Batman!" _

Her heart nearly bounced up into her throat. It was Riddler! He must've thought Batman picked up the trophy. Boy would he be surprised when he found out it was eighteen year old girl.

She was about to reply back to the intercom on the bottom of the trophy when a red flag suddenly went up in her head.

No! Don't tell him who you are! That's a damn good way to get killed!

Biting her lip, Mel suddenly remembered what the clowns and what Joker had said. They thought she was a ghost…

So, she cleared her throat, and in the best ghostly voice she could manage she rasped, "Not Batman…" Into the device.

Back at his hideout Edward Nygma leaned back in his chair from surprise. Trophy number forty-six had been picked up, and he was suspecting to hear gruff breathing before the intercom would be broken. That's what Batman had done all the other times he had found his trophies.

But when he heard that whisper, _"Not Batman…."_ A shiver ran up his spine.

He scowled and ran the voice through his computer, comparing it to the other female samples he had obtained from Arkham Inmates. When none of those matched, he even compared it to the police force and Batgirl.

Still none matched.

"Who are you?" He hissed into his intercom, not at all liking that he didn't know who was speaking to him, or that this same person had found one of his trophies specifically meant for Batman!

He could hear some kind of feminine noise before another soft whisper drifted through the intercom again. _"Banshee…"_

With an annoyed growl, he activated the camera he had placed in room near his trophy. What he saw, he almost couldn't believe.

Melanie was panicking.

She had just **talked** to Riddler! And boy he didn't sound happy to be talking to her. In fact, he sounded murderous. She had almost lost her cool when he demanded who she was. He was pissed.

And not knowing what to say, Mel began to think of ghost references. A sudden thought lodged itself into her brain. In one of her games, she had major trouble with a ghost that would appear and scream at her before taking her weapons. It was called a Banshee.

"Banshee…" She whispered into the intercom.

Then a soft mechanical whirring sound began to emit off a camera in the corner. Her eyes widened immensely. He had a camera in the room!

It caught at least one good shot of her before it suddenly began to spark. She smiled, it was glitching! Someone up in heaven loved her! She dropped the trophy and sprinted out of the room before the camera could come back on.

Edward slammed his hands onto his keyboard. "No! Go back!" He hissed, pressing buttons rapidly, trying to get the picture to come back.

When it finally did he saw his trophy laying on the ground, and the girl gone. "Where'd she go..? Where'd she go?" He slammed his hands down again, glaring at the screen. He didn't like this one bit. He hated not knowing what was going on.

With a growl, he flipped open his cell phone and punched in the first person on his speed dial.

Within two rings, the obnoxious voice of The Joker answered.

"_Helooooo?"_

Edward directed his vision towards the screen where he rewound the tape so he could look at this 'ghost' fully. She sure fit the description one would label a ghost by. In fact, she looked down right creepy. And he was sure that no one at Arkham had the M.O of a ghost. He should know. He was a genius.

"Joker, I have some information you might find interesting…."

…

**Well there was the first chapter! Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated! But NO FLAMES. **

**I hope you guys enjoyed it! I promise there will be Croc or Scarecrow in the next chapter! :D I had to establish the story first!**

**See you next time!**


	2. Banshee's Trail

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that it took so long to update, I went to Metrocon for the weekend :3 and I also had to spruce up this chapter!**

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**Again, thank you to everyone who reviewed, and without further adieu…**

…

Mel's plan seemed so easy when it was in her head.

But then she _had_ to go and piss off the Riddler enough to make him activate a secret camera in the room she was hiding in. So not only had she been spotted, but she had lost the Riddler trophy she had been planning to take. But not only this, she had completely thrown away the plan she had.

Somehow, in her panicked state she had run halfway across Arkham and ended up outside the Medical Building.

She was furious with herself.

Sighing, she sunk down in the bushes surrounding the building, trying to think of a new plan. And to make matters worse, as hard as she tried she couldn't figure out why her mind was trying to steer her away from this building. In truth, it looked innocent enough.

No clowns around it, hardly any dead guards, much less intimidating then Arkham Mansion.

A small smile began to form on her lips. Maybe this was a good thing. And if she remembered correctly, most of the doctors were held up in this building after being saved from Batman. Though they were much less intimidating then Aaron Cash, it was still some kind of safety.

But she couldn't get the nagging feeling in her head to go away. Although she couldn't figure out why. Croc was still under Intensive Treatment, Zsaz was skulking around Arkham Mansion and if she had to guess she would assume Joker to be under the Botanical Gardens in the Titan lab.

Wait… was she forgetting someone?

'I feel like I'm missing someone…' She thought absently, scratching her head. Nevertheless, she couldn't be standing outside for too long. The longer she was out in the open the better chance there was of getting caught.

With a quick look to the left and right, she slinked inside the doors, completely missing the large green tank outside with a Scarecrow face painted on it.

The linoleum tile was cold on Mel's feet, and the dank air smelt of hospitals and gun powder. Not to mention the floor was littered with bullets. 'The clowns have been here…' She thought, stepping over them to avoid a cut foot.

Although, it looked like the clowns had left in a hurry sometime ago. Mel could very faintly see their footprints leading out the door. 'Joker probably called them to the Arkham Mansion…' She thought, suddenly very happy with the fact that she wasn't there.

She walked silently through the reception area, still carefully watching for any signs of painted faces. Now all she had to do was find the room where the doctors were hiding… easier said then done.

'The doctors are in the Sanatorium right…?' She thought, trying to remember what room they were held up in exactly. Mel decided just to go with that thought and headed in that direction.

The red flag in her head continued to wave, as if warning her to some kind of situation. She pushed the though aside as turned a corner. As her left foot came down, she almost shrieked. A white hot pain spread through her foot as she stumbled back a few steps.

"Ouch…" She groaned, leaning on the wall so she could inspect her wounded foot. A two inch gash spread across the ball of her foot to the sole and when she looked at the ground she knew immediately what had caused it. A small scalpel lay abandoned on the floor.

She cursed what ever careless doctor had left it there, because damn it hurt.

As carefully as she could manage, she set her foot down and continued on her way towards the sanatorium.

Little did she know that she left almost a perfect footprint of blood in her wake.

At the end of the hallway Mel could see that the hall split in two directions. And by looking at the signs above them she could tell that the Sanatorium was right and Surgery was left. "I guess I go right…" She muttered to herself, suddenly feeling a chill down her spine.

She quickened her pace slightly and turned down the hallway to the right. Although what she saw at the end, she was suspecting at all.

A smile of relief spread across her face when she saw a guard sitting in an office chair with his head down on his desk. "Thank god, I thought I wouldn't find anyone who could help me." She walked up to the man and laid a hand on his surprisingly cold shoulder. When he didn't move, she blinked and shook him gently. "Sir, please wake up. I need your help."

The man suddenly toppled over and looked up at her with blank and lifeless eyes.

It took only a second for her to realize what had just happened, and when she did a loud screech tore its way from her sore throat. She had just touched a dead man!

Down in the Morgue, Jonathan Crane suddenly looked up from outfitting his glove. A pleasurable shiver ran down his spine as a sharp, shrill shriek rang through his ears. A sadistic smile spread across his thin lips.

"A siren's call perhaps?" He mused, absently clicking his needles together.

He would have to remember to hunt down what could make such a alluring scream. The only sound that would top that would be Batman's final shrieks of terror.

Oh how he yearned for that.

He began to click his needles together again as he continued to work on his scheme for the Bat. This time, he wouldn't be outsmarted….He slipped his mask on and activated its filters, pushed himself into the third body bag he had arranged. The other two were empty, ready for Batman to fill with his demented mind.

Now all he had to do was wait.

Mel recoiled from the body until her back hit a wall. Hot tears had welled up in her eyes and began to slide down her cheeks. "Oh my god… Oh my god…" She murmured, stepping as far away from the body as she could and working a small circle around him.

How could she be so stupid? Why would the clowns leave a guard alive?

Although from the guards slit neck, she concluded it was not the clowns. At some point, Zasz had been here and left the body for some sap -Like Mel- to find. 'Sick, sadistic, fuck.' Mel though angrily, walking down the hallway towards the Sanatorium.

It was weird. When Mel had played the game, she had loved Zsaz.

His quirky way of talking and the way he almost killed Dr. Young. Even the way he arranged the bodies of his victims in such life like positions. It all seemed so appealing when she played the game; but that was from the safety of her room, with the lights on.

Now that she was living the game… it seemed so horribly twisted.

'As it should.' She reminded herself, reaching out to push open the door to the Sanatorium. As the door opened, she was met with an empty room in front of her. "I guess they already moved on."

She padded into the room, carefully avoiding syringes and shotgun shells on the floor. Last thing she needed was to hurt her foot further.

Sighing she noticed the elevator already closed. And from the way it looked, it wasn't coming back up.

Elevator… Wait why was that ringing bells?

Oh well, she didn't have time to dwell on her thoughts. She had to keep moving and find the Doctors.

Mel cast a look up and noted she was on the ground floor. The second door on the second floor was the only way out except for the way she came. So she began to search for a way onto the second floor.

As her eyes wandered, she noticed a cell that once belonged to one of her favorite characters in the game. Transfixed, she began to numbly walk towards it.

The cell bars were torn and ripped apart, and inside lay two bodies long ago decomposed only leaving the barren skeletons. As she neared, a sickening stench met her nose, making her reach up and cover it with her hand.

Oh yes, she remembered this cell vividly.

It was one of the Riddler Challenges and once housed Killer Croc.

"Imagine what he could do to a person…" She mumbled, reaching out and touching one of the cold bars, crippled by Croc's inhuman strength. 'Then again… look what he did to Cash.' She reminded herself, casting a look at both skeletons.

One was missing a leg and by the blood stain on the floor, he was alive when it was torn from him. However, he looked to be the luckier one, for the seconds skeletons upper half was torn completely from his body.

Mel gulped against her dry throat, imagining the pain these poor men had to endure in their final hours. Pleading to the other guards for help, but none would come. Then after their fates were brought, they were just left there.

No body for their families. No restful grave. No words spoken at a funeral.

Just eternity rotting in an Asylum…

The thought brought sentimental tears to Mel's eyes. Wiping them away with her dirty hand, she forced herself to turn from the cell and continue on. After all, there was nothing she could do for them.

Their troubles were over, while hers were just beginning.

After searching for about two more minutes, she finally stumbled upon a set of stairs that led up to the second level. Upon reaching for the door and pulling on it twice, she concluded it was locked.

"That's a spirit breaker." She mumbled aggravated.

These situations were common in the game and could usually be overcome by using Detective Mode or Explosive Gel. Unfortunately, she had neither. Although, upon further inspection of the area, she noticed a vent right next to the door.

Smiling, she crouched down to get a better look. The vent was still in tact, which meant Batman hadn't gone through there yet. And the locked door probably signaled to the Doctors.

She was getting closer!

But here was the problem. There was no way she could pull the vent off the wall with her bare hands! That was not going to happen, so she began to search around the room for something to pry the vent open with.

Mel jogged over to a desk and began rooting through it. The only thing she found was a tube of lip stick, old papers and dusty books.

Sighing, she began to lean back up when a flash of green caught her attention. Her necklace had slipped out of her night gown when she bent over to look in the desk and was now hanging in clear view.

This necklace was one of her most prized possessions. It was a jade green moon that Monica had given it to her for her 18th birthday; she hadn't taken it off since. But this was survival…

Mel reached around to the back of her neck and undid the clasp. Then she walked back to the vent and slid the moon into one of the screws openings. Holding her breath, she unscrewed the first three screws. Then when she stuck it in the forth screws hole, the screw wouldn't turn.

Anguish rose up in her throat. "Please twist." She begged it, trying to turn it harder. It was no use, the screw wouldn't turn no matter how hard she turned. And now she was sure her necklace was stuck.

"Please work." She mumbled, pulling the grate as hard as she could. After a few seconds of strenuous pulling, the screw popped off and fell down to the first level where it slipped into a drain, taking Mel's necklace all the way.

At this point, Mel was too happy to even care about her necklace. She squeezed herself into the vent and began to crawl carefully.

'I'll have to apologize to Monica about the necklace when I see her again.' She thought, crawling as quietly as she could manage.

Scarecrow was _enraged_.

Batman had somehow beaten him again! Even after he tried so hard to break his mind. He didn't understand, his plan had been full proof! If only Batman didn't hide so well.

Growling, he began to exit the Medical Center when something caught his attention.

In the middle of the hall leading to the sanatorium there was a foot print of blood, far to small to belong to any of Joker's idiotic henchmen. Raising an eyebrow behind his mask he walked forward to investigate.

He leaned down and dipped his finger tips into the drying blood.

"A trail," He mused, rubbing his fingers together. He stood and walked into the Sanatorium. As the doors opened he saw a white figure crawling into a vent.

He raised his eyebrow again. He had indeed heard Joker's announcement about a "ghost" running about Arkham. Jonathan thought it was preposterous. There was no such thing as ghosts, he remembered his grandmother beating that into him as a child when he complained there was one in his closet.

"_You go to heaven or hell! Not in-between!" _ She screamed every time her fist came down.

Of course back then, he believed it out of fear of being hit again. But now he believed it from experience.

Glaring, he marched up the stairs and tugged on the door. He didn't take kindly to some other inmate stealing his M.O. If anyone was going to scare the inmates of Arkham it would be _**him. **_

He tugged the door harder but when it wouldn't budge he knew the problem.

Locked.

He diverted his eyes back to the vent and glared. He wouldn't crawl through a vent like a rat just to catch some ghost. He was above that at least. Not to mention every second he spent hunting this ghost, the Bat was getting further away.

He then looked back to his hand and chuckled manically. He turned and wiped the blood on the door, another thing making him believe it wasn't any ghost.

"Ghosts don't _bleed_…"

Mel gasped for air as she pushed herself from the vent tiredly. Luckily for her the heat had been turned off a while back but the vents still had poor air flow. She also noticed the vents other grate had already been already torn off.

She had just begun to wonder when she saw a dead man on the ground holding the missing grate in his death grip. He ripped it off in an attempt to escape, unfortunately he hadn't made it.

Stepping over him, she smoothed her nightgown and looked at her surroundings. From the blown up walls and X-Ray pictures on the walls, she was in the X-ray room.

"I still don't know if I'm closer or not." She muttered, walking over to the door and peeking through the glass window. She didn't see anyone through the window, so she opened it quietly and walked into the hallway.

A voice over the intercom nearly scared her out of her wits.

"_Welcome to Arkham Asylum, our staff are here to help you. It is recommended that all patients move slowly to accommodate to their new environment." _

Mel sighed. She remembered that annoying announcement. It would always play when she was in this hallway. And even worse, it would play itself over when she stayed in the hallway too long.

So she turned and blindly walked down a hallway, just trying to get out of the announcements range.

Little did she know, that was a big mistake….

…

**And that's the end of this chapter! :D Thank you to everyone who reviewed and I hope you guys liked this chapter! **

**Oh no! Her necklace has fallen down a drain, and we all know where the drains lead in Arkham ;)**

**See you guys next time!**

**Reviews are appreciated as well as constructive criticsm! BUT NO FLAMES!**


	3. Complicated Thoughts

**Hello everyone! Here we are again at another chapter of Banshee! I tried my hardest to get this chapter out quicker then my last one. **** I hope this was quick enough! **

**I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed!**

**Fade-Into-Oblivion: Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it! And you'd be surprised how many people voted for Scarecrow in private messages. He may just end up winning.**

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**Kira-kun: Thank you so much! Here's the next chapter with two new villains absolutely free! :D I'm so glad you like my characterization, this chapter was a bit harder so I actually played through the game again for research. And I'm glad you like Crane so much! Because he might just actually win this :3**

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**Ms. Cran: Thank you so much! Sooner or later she will get a bit cleaned up and maybe she'll change her clothes, but you know how hard it is to find nice things in Arkham ;) **

**Getsemone: Thank you so much! I actually was happy to see your review because I had been wanting to put Zsasz in this next chapter! So I did! :D And I think if she had a shoe and wasn't terrified of him, she might've beat him **

**Greenqueenbean: I hope this wasn't too long of a wait, and unfortunately our dear Scarecrow wasn't in this chapter. But he will be appearing again soon! **

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**Superdorkwithoutacape: Thank you so much for the review! And thank you again for the compliments! I worked very hard on the characterization, enough to play the game over again before writing this chapter! And I won't spoil to much, but there are two villains in this chapter completely free! :D**

**So enough of my rambling, here's the third chapter to Banshee! **

…

Deep in the bowels of Arkham, Mel's necklace slid down an arrangement of pipes and finally landed into the sewers where it fell to the floor with a small twang. Even in the dark sewers, it still held its metallic shine.

It lay on the dirty floor until a curious rat passing by took interest in it. The small rodent picked it up by the charm and gnawed on it until a large green reptilian hand emerged from the sewage and grabbed it roughly.

The vermin let out a cry of pain and panic, but was silenced when it was pulled into the water and shoved into a large mouth filled with killing fangs, made for crunching bones and grinding meat.

The water around the area was still for a moment until the hand emerged again along with a pair of yellow eyes, narrowed upon the object dangling from the hands black claws.

It was Mel's necklace.

A snarl burbled up from the sewage. **"What the fuck?"**

The voice belonged possibly the most dangerous inmate Arkham. Waylon Jones, known in the streets of Gotham as Killer Croc. A mobster who had been infected with a rare birth defect practicly stealing his humanity in his later years.

Although many people would say he had no humanity to begin with.

His glowing eyes glared upon the necklace with hatred groomed over years of being treated as a freak. He lifted his whole head out of the water and inhaled the scent wafting off the necklace.

None of the scents he had before matched this particular one, but that wouldn't stop him from finding anyone who threw shit into his lair. Just another way for humans to walk allover him!

"**I've got your scent now little bitch." **He growled, tossing the necklace over his shoulder into the depths of raw sewage.

He sunk back into the water with a maniacal chuckle, that in no way sounded normal. After all, he wasn't.

"_Welcome to Arkham Asylum, our staff is here to help you. When Amadeous Arkham founded this fine institution he had no idea that it would become Gotham's primary mental cure center-"_

Mel swore that if she heard that stupid announcement one more time, she would burn something.

She had been wandering around the inner workings of the Medical Center for twenty minutes, so it was the fourth time the reel of announcements had rewound itself. And it became more annoying every time. 

Not to mention the fact that she couldn't seem to find a way out of the endless loop of rooms. The only rooms shad had made it into were X-Ray, Surgery, and the Sanatorium again. She was in a hopeless loop, and was beginning to think she needed some kind of Gadget to actually find them.

Sighing, she walked into Surgery for the second time and sat down in the chair placed by the medical restraint chair to rest her legs.

In all honesty, she totally forgot what happened in the Medical Center. It had been an exceptionally hard part of the game, and Mel had never been the best gamer. So, like a quitter, she had her friend Austin beat the Medical Center for her.

(I have nothing against people who do that ^^' I have done this exact thing many times myself although not in Batman AA, mostly in Persona 4!)

'What do I do now? I can't just leave. Wandering around without a plan will get me killed.' She thought, absently rubbing her feet which were now covered in small scrapes and cuts.

Broken glass and bare feet didn't go well together…

She stood, finally ready to continue wandering through Medical. At least in the building, she was somewhat safe from the clowns. So she would continue to wander until she found something.

That was the plan for now.

Pushing the door open, she suddenly became aware of the awful squeak it made. "Someone should fix that." She muttered, walking down the hallway for the fourth time. Luckily, she had learned to block out the announcement by now.

But it was now she realized she wasn't alone.

At the end of the hallway, there was a figure hunched over arranging what looked like a body…. Uh oh.

Commence mind fuck.

A bead of cold sweat ran down the back of her neck as she looked over the man. But she was sure she already knew him.

He was shirtless, clad in only orange Arkham pants, with sections of cloth wrapped tightly around his vital parts, secured with a large padlock each. 'So he wouldn't kill himself while making a tally mark.' She thought helplessly.

Standing just a few feet from her was Victor Zsasz.

He was murmuring to himself as he arranged the body so it was holding a coffee cup and doughnut. Even from where she was standing, she could see the empty expression on the guards face. He was probably one of the lucky ones that hadn't seen Zsasz coming…

The ones that had seen him, always had horrible, terrified expressions.

"There. You're perfect…now." Zsasz said, a bit louder, adjusting the guards helmet so it was straight. Mel quietly began to back up, hoping she could just slip back into Surgery and wait until he slinked away to find his new victim. She was just hoping that it wouldn't be her…

Suddenly Zsasz turned and his eyes landed on Mel.

She cursed herself for not being quicker. Now it would be her he would be posing next!

His eyes widened a fraction as he took a step closer. "Ah, another zombie to free?" he muttered somewhat excitedly. She could see a flash a silver as his hand tightened around something in his fist.

'A knife!' She thought hopelessly, recognizing the prized piece of metal in his hand. It was too late to run now, the only thing she could do was fall back upon her gimmick. Trying her hardest, she kept an emotionless face even as he neared.

He stalked forward slowly, like a predator.

The female zombies were always quicker to run then the male ones. Although they shared the want to be freed of their fleshy prison, they were always scared of the pain.

But, he couldn't help the unease running down his spine. Something felt wrong about this one. She wasn't crying, her eyes weren't darting about looking for an escape, it didn't even look like she was breathing…

As a matter of fact, he wasn't aware of any other females running around Arkham besides that bitch Whistler, Harley, Ivy, or Cassidy.

Who was this female?

Mel was about to scream, loudly. They were hardly a chest length away.

He was so close she could see the madness shining in his blue eyes. It was like a spark, moving around wildly, and consuming every last inch of sanity.

This was it. She was going to die here…

Then, he stopped and regarded her with his insane eyes. She could clearly see the confusion and apprehension in his eyes.

'Just stay still Mel.' She reminded herself. Trying even harder to keep her face passive.

"Who-?"

Just then, a clown came walking around the corner. "Zsasz, Joker wants you in the Arkham Mansion!" He was bigger then most of the clowns she had seen before, but his eyes didn't drift onto her. Zsasz must've been wide enough to cover her form, although he was quite slender for a man.

Zsasz cursed and turned to the clown growling. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

His grip tightened around his knife as he turned to finally make the kill. He had no time to question the female now, he had to make the kill and mark quickly.

But when he turned the female was gone.

Rage enveloped through his whole body as his leg began to quiver. Obviously it wanted the mark there. The mark that had just escaped!

He needed the mark!

He turned, growling as he walked towards the clown. "I lost the mark…" He seethed, as the clown took a step back with wide eyes. "What?" He asked, swallowing past a block in his dry throat.

The Arkham loonies were always quick to kill, and he was stupid enough to leave his gun back at the Mansion.

Zsasz grabbed the man by his throat and growled right into his face. "The girl! She was going to be my next tally mark! I need the mark!" he spat. The clown coughed, trying to push Zsasz's strong hand off his neck.

"I didn't see any girl! Just you!" he choked, desperately trying to push oxygen into his burning lungs.

Zsasz didn't respond, but instead slit the mans neck quickly. After that, he lived only for a minute later, choking on his own blood before he fell dead. Wiping his knife clean on his pants, Zsasz carved a new tally on his leg, relishing the pain.

He still didn't understand what the clown said. The clown hadn't seen the female, but he had been looking at her for a few minutes at least. He knew he wouldn't be able to relax until he had hers and Batman's mark.

But this would hold him… for now.

Mel almost couldn't breathe. When Zsasz had turned his back, she ran like the devil himself was after her. Without the option of running back into Surgery, she booked it right into the Sanatorium again.

But it wasn't the sanatorium she was so shocked about. She had picked possibly the most disgusting place to hide.

In Croc's old cell.

She peeked out, expecting to see Zsasz looking around the corner. But when she saw no sign of the knife or his orange clad body, she finally took the time to steady her breathing.

Although she was terrified, another part of her felt accomplished.

She had survived Victor Zsasz. The Victor Zsasz who had killed countless people. One of the most dangerous inmates at Arkham.

All things aside, that was an accomplishment and she would revel in it for the time being. But she still didn't have a plan to find the doctors, and by what the clown had said, she guessed Dr. Young was about to die out in Arkham Mansion.

Good riddance.

But once Dr. Young was dead the clowns would spread all over the island again to look for Batman. Although most would just go to the Botanical Gardens, they still might come back to the Medical Center.

She had to find the Doctors soon.

She looked over into the empty eye sockets of the skeleton with the missing leg. "You didn't see the doctors did you?" She asked, with an elated smile still on her face, still reveling in her somewhat victory.

The skeleton didn't reply, but the silence in the sanatorium was a bit more comforting then the first time she had went in. It was almost relaxing, sitting in Croc's sell trying to not have an asthma attack.

Running always worked it up. Plus who knew what kind of allergens were hanging in the air around Arkham.

_**Ding Da Ding Dong!**_

"_**Now boys, I try to be patient with you, but how can you expect me to stay calm when no one had found the Bat or this Banchee! Funny, I always thought a Banchee was a monkey…. Ha!"**_

Mel sighed. Now the Joker had learned her name.

Probably from Riddler now that she thought about it, because he was the only person she told her 'name'. They really did gossip like teenagers.

But now she knew that Joker was still looking for her. And if she was found, who knew what he would do.

Because killing quickly wasn't exactly his thing. Look at how long he and Batman had been going at it.

Joker hadn't killed Batman because he liked to do elaborate schemes that were only there to distract Batman. And Batman didn't kill Joker because that was his one rule. Mel was sure that if Batman didn't follow his rule, she wouldn't be in this type of situation because there wouldn't be anyone to take over the Asylum.

Glancing at the skeletons again Mel concluded she couldn't stay there for long. Because she had this funny feeling that she wouldn't be able to relax for the next couple of hours.

And usually when she had her feelings, they came true.

This suddenly made her think. If her instincts were watching out for her, did she really need a plan? Was she over thinking things?

Sighing, she leaned her head back against the reinforced bricks of Croc's old cell. She did have a problem with over thinking. It was a nasty habit that got her killed a couple times because Mel was sure she could make a strategy to take out all the clowns with one strike.

No surprise it didn't work.

So maybe she didn't need a plan, but she had to do something to find the Doctors.

But for now she was more then content to sit with the skeletons and relax for as long as she possibly could, she wasn't even perturbed by their presence anymore. Maybe she was getting used to the Asylum…

Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

…

**Well there it is! :D **

**We got a glimpse of our dear Croc, and a whole face full of Zsasz, which I hope everyone enjoyed!**

**Who knows what'll happen in the next chapter! **

**I am also thinking of posting a poll to see who will get to be with Mel, because a lot of people have been sending me messages begging for Crane. Not that I mind those, but I do want to have a more organized system :D**

**So, see you guys next time on Banshee!**


	4. Interviews And Crocodile Tears

**:D Hey everyone, here we are again at a brand spankin' new chapter of Banshee! Now with 50% more Inmates!**

**Again, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, because you guys are awesome! Seriously, without you guys I would be nothing :3**

**: Thank you so much for your review! I hope you like this chapter! :D**

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**Phew, I believe that's all the reviews! Seriously you guys are all awesome! ****Thank you all so much for your reviews! **

**Now please, sit back and enjoy this newest addition of Banshee!**

…..

Mel felt anguish spread through her whole body.

It was very much like she had predicted. The clowns had come back to the Medical Center, and she could only assume that Dr. Young was already dead. If that was the case, then Batman would be heading after Harley Quinn to rescue the captive Warden.

Which meant the game was a third over.

The only things left were finding the Titan Lab, a few Scarecrow Nightmares, retrieving the Venom roots from Killer Croc's Lair, Titan Ivy, then finally Titan Joker.

That's all she had to survive.

If she was lucky she wouldn't have to run into anyone of those. Especially Scarecrow. Although Jonathan Crane was incredibly sexy, he was also incredibly insane. She would stick to admiring him while he was on her television. That also went for Killer Croc.

All things aside, it was now apparent that Mel couldn't hang around the Medical Center anymore. The clowns were spreading out, and if she didn't act quickly then she would end up trapped in the building.

Finding the Doctors was crossed off the list. At the top of that list at the moment was to get out of the Medical Center to find a safer place to hide. If there even was a safer place on Arkham…

At the moment, she was crouched down around a corner waiting for a chance to get out the door without being seen.

'Ok Mel, time to move.' She thought to herself, peering around a corner at the exit. The clown guarding it had his legs propped up on the desk sitting by the door, whilst reclining in the leather office chair, and she thanked her lucky stars he was falling in and out of sleep. So all she do was get around him without making too much noise.

'Or you die…' Her eyes landed upon gun clenched in his right hand.

Forcing her legs to move, she tip toed towards him, keeping her eyes locked on his face. He was snoring lightly, but she could see his eyes rolling wildly under his eyelids. That usually meant someone was half asleep or having a nightmare. Either could be bad for her.

If he was half asleep, then he could wake up as the door creaked open and shoot her. If he was having a nightmare, he could get freaked out and accidentally pull the trigger, which would wake him up then he would shoot her.

Not a very happy thought, but a realistic one.

Padding silently and slowly, she began to make her way around him. Every second was agonizing, and the door still seemed so far away, but she kept the slow and quiet pace. Halfway to the door, the clown let out a particularly loud snore which scared Mel half to death.

Upon realizing that he was just snoring, she continued to make her way to the door. And after what seemed like hours, she made it to the door. The handle was cold and refreshing under her sweating palms.

Opening the door slowly, she looked back at the clown to make sure he was still asleep. When she was satisfied that he was, Mel turned her eyes from him to look back at the door, but halfway there, they ghosted upon a silver circular object glinting on the desk he had his feet on.

A bead of sweat ran down her back as she instantly recognized the object to be an Interview Tape.

'Oh my God! Mel, there's an interview tape sitting right there! I demand that you take it!' Her subconscious screamed, while the smarter part of her brain made her feet stay rooted to her spot.

But honestly, when would this chance happen again?

Cursing herself, Mel inched forward with a shaking hand in front of her. 'Just grab it and go… Just grab it and go…' She thought to herself, closing her hand around the Tapes carrying holes and picking it up.

The clown snored again, and Mel swore she almost dropped the tape!

Holding the tape close to her chest, she opened the door inch by inch, then shoved her body through the crack and ran. She didn't care where she was going, she just knew to run.

Her feet stinging and asthma flaring, she ran threw the tunnel into Arkham North, only stopping when she was sure no one was around. Just in case, she huddled in a bush as she examined the interview tape in her arms.

She had been so quick to run that she hadn't even checked whose tape it was. Turning the tape over in her hands, she saw a piece of tape with marker written on it. Scrawled on the tape in permanent marker was Edward Nygma #21.

Mel smiled at her luck. She loved finding interview tapes while playing the game, but sometimes she was bummed out to find it only belonged to Poison Ivy or Harley.

Although she loved both those characters, their tapes got old after hearing them once. But she could continuously listen to Riddler's, Scarecrow's, or Killer Croc's. Those were always fun to listen to.

Although, Mel did sometimes smile when she listened to Harley's tapes.

Even though Joker didn't really love Harley -Or did he?- she always dreamed of loving someone as Harley did. Sure she had a few boyfriends, but all were passing flings, as most High school relationships are.

Clutching her new possession to her chest, she rose from the bushes, and with a quick glance around, she sprinted towards Intensive Treatment.

In all honesty, Mel hated Intensive Treatment while playing the game. It was way to big and confusing to navigate around, especially since you had to grapple through the elevator shaft to get most places.

All in all, annoying.

With her leg muscles and lungs aflame, she slowed down to examine the door leading into Intensive Treatment.

At some point in the game -After Poison Ivy's taker over- the clowns lock the door. So she had about a 50% chance that the door was locked. Who knows, maybe one of the clowns had locked it early.

You never knew with Arkham. It was literally brimming with mysteries.

Holding her breath, Mel walked forward. Within maybe a minute, the doors began to whir and slowly opened. "It's my lucky day." Mel uttered smiling. The doors closed with a clank as she walked in a surveyed the area.

It seemed to be the receptionist area due to the large desk in the middle of the room. Walking closer, she noticed that the phone was still ringing off the hook. It was probably the local news stations trying to figure out what was going on the island, so she ignored it and continued on her way.

Through the reception area were the holding cells, complete with the dead doctor and guard from the beginning of the game. As she looked around the small room, she could remember her first time playing the game. Rapidly pressed the square button, hitting thugs left and right, the thrill of winning her first battle, and the uncertainty of what was to come.

A small smile began to tug at her lips.

Her first time playing the game… Well it was just like Joker said, 'You never forget your first time.' And boy she didn't.

It was Christmas. Mel was brimming with excitement as she plugged in the modem.

After all, it had been hell getting the damn system. She had waited for five hours on Black Friday to get her PS3, fought with other people to grab it, then had to wait twenty-five days to finally play it.

She had stayed up all night the day before, then at 6:29 a.m snuck out into the den to grab the gift. Her parents hadn't expected a thing. Though, they never did.

Then, she spent all day playing it with her cousins.

Of course she had another game to go with the system, but she wasn't focused on that right now. All she wanted was Batman Arkham Asylum.

Now wasn't the time to mull over such things, but it did succeed it making Mel feel a bit better. It gave her time to think about when she was back in her room, on her comfortable bed, playing the game in blissful ignorance.

Tossing a glance at the bodies, a morbid thought struck her. 'I never thought of the lives that had been taken. They didn't mean anything to me while I was playing it.' Shame spread through her body as she frowned.

After all, does anyone even think about the people they kill while playing games?

Why would you? They're just pixels made to look like people. It would never occur to people that they were _actual_ people, because they weren't.

But look where Mel was. She had stared into the eyes of Victor Zsasz's victims, looked at the bloody wounds of Arkham Guards, and even gotten quick glances of dead doctors. Never before in her life had she felt so insensitive.

Gathering herself, she stepped over the bodies carefully with a new respect for them. She couldn't dwell on them for long, but she would offer her respect at least.

The interview tape still clutched under her arm, pinched her slightly as she maneuvered around bits of broken glass, now working her way out of the room.

When she was out of the Holding Cells, she entered the ever infuriating Transit Loop.

Finding her way around this on the map that the game offered had been so frustrating, she had wanted to rip her hair out. So she made sure to set mental landmarks in her mind so she couldn't get lost.

Although, she probably would anyway.

Taking a right through the Transit Loop, a strange clacking sound began to get louder to Mel as she walked down the hall. And was it just her, or did something smell utterly _disgusting_?

Keeping her eyes up ahead of her, Mel didn't notice the large wet footprints on the ground, leading the opposite direction.

As Mel entered the new room, a nauseating smell assaulted her nostrils. "O-oh my God." She muttered, lifting her hands to shield her nose from the ghastly odor.

Squinting her watering eyes, she found she was in the Patient Pacification Room. Otherwise known as Electroshock Therapy room. As much as she would've liked to explore the room, the smell was keeping her from doing anything. So she left while coughing.

Luckily, she hadn't walked in further, or she would have found a mutilated body just behind the ledge of the room, just hidden from Mel's eyes. The corpse's torso was ripped open, and missing a few vital organs; producing the pungent smell. But the main factor were the claw marks on the poor victims body…

When she felt she was far enough away, she removed her hands from her face and greedily took in fresh air. "Nasty." She said to herself as she wiped the tears from her eyes. As she looked at her new surroundings she found she was in another office.

And apparently, a very messy Doctor or Intern had occupied it.

The desk was cluttered with papers, rubber bands and paper clips. A few drawers were open or broken. And she was sure the colorful spheres on the ground were Peanut M&Ms. Not that she was going to check.

Walking over, she set her Interview Tape on the desk and began to look through the papers. She wouldn't normally do this, but it looked like no one had been there in a while. Maybe she could find a map…

Brushing away papers, a black object made itself known to Mel. A delighted smile spread across her whole face, even making it's way into her eyes. "A tape recorder!" She cried, opening the top and putting her own tape in it.

She plopped herself in the office chair beaming as the tape rewound itself.

Finally once the tape was rewound, out came the voice of Dr. Young, which annoyed Mel to the highest extent.

"_Taped Patient Interview 21. Patients name is Edward Nygma, also known as the Riddler. So Edward, Warden Sharp tells me you've been leaving threatening Riddles scrawled on the Asylum walls…again."_

Mel scrunched her nose, but kept quiet so she could hear Eddie's voice. Hearing it in person, would be so much better then hearing it on her television.

"_One would have to be severely paranoid to read threats into harmless riddles Dr. Young. May I test you with one?"_

Nearly giggling like a fan girl, Mel leaned closer so she could hear better.

Dr. Young sighed. But replied simply with a, _"Very well."_ Probably just to please him. Mel knew how quickly he got angry, so she probably would have done the same thing.

"_What is it that walks on four legs, then two legs, and finally three legs?"_ Riddler sounded confident, he knew Dr. Young wouldn't get his riddle. He set it up so it would be impossible for anyone besides him to get it right. That's what he did with all his riddles. Duh.

"_A human being. As a baby it crawls on four legs, then when it reaches adult hood it walks on two, and in later years it uses a cane." _Dr. Young sounded confident herself. Obviously thinking she could outsmart Edward Nygma.

Mel rolled her eyes at that one.

She already knew that no one but Batman would ever outsmart the Riddler. He truly was a genius. And Mel was sure that if he ever got a hold of her report card, he would laugh right into her face.

Yeah, Mel wasn't the best student…

Mel felt herself melt as Riddler gave a deep chuckle.

"_Nice try. But the answer to all three is a baby. True it crawls on all fours. But cut off its legs it can only wiggle on two limbs. Give it a crutch and it can hobble on three. You see?"_

She heard Dr. Young let out a gasp.

"_That's horrible. How can you even joke about that?" _She sounded absolutely flabbergasted. Honestly, Mel felt her disgust, but she also wanted to laugh. The look on Dr. Young's face must've been priceless.

But Dr. Young had been a Doctor in an **asylum**. She should have expected a remark like that, especially from Riddler. Anyone who thought they could actually change the inmates like she thought she could, were insane themselves. Not only that, but Mel held a deep grudge against Dr. Young for experimenting on Bane.

'Which is why she died.' Mel reminded herself, leaning in to continue listening.

Again she melted when Riddler gave a dark chuckle.

"_Easily Doctor. It's not __**my**__ baby…"_

She cringed a little, not expecting how much more dark it sounded in real life. Although it was the Riddler... so what could she expect.

The tape stopped there, and Mel decided to just leave the tape in the recorder. After all, she couldn't really do anything with a tape, and having to carry it around might slow her down.

Finally, she stood and walked out, already missing her tape.

But she had to keep moving and couldn't waste her time listening to that tape. As much as she wished she could…

Working her through the transit loop, she went right instead of left. Maybe this time she would get out.

At the end of the hallway, it forked again giving her the option of going left or right again. Sighing, she wished she had an actual map to at least point her in the right direction.

So with great debate, she picked right, and walked down the hallway. At the end was a single door with a cracked window.

A red flag went off in Mel's mind.

"That door looks oddly familiar." She mumbled, walking over carefully. Once she was in front of it, she grabbed the handle and tried to open it. The handle moved down freely, but when she pushed against the door it didn't budge; signaling it was locked from the inside.

But who would lock a door from the inside…? And where did it go?

She stood on her tiptoes, peering out the window. Squinting, she could barely make out a path in the dark, along with the sound of water.

Wait a sec…

At that moment, a large figure appeared and slammed it's fist into the door, making a large dent in the door that hit Mel in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. A glowing yellow eye glared out at her as she crumpled to the floor, terror striking her every nerve.

She knew that eye…

She heard the man let out a maniacal chuckle boom through the door. **"I'll rip you apart like paper little bitch!" **With that said, he disappeared into the depths of the sewer.

Mel crawled backwards quickly, then before she could stop herself she let out the loudest scream she could manage. She continued to scream until her throat was raw, and tears gathered in her eyes.

She had never been so afraid of anything in her life.

And she had a damn good reason too, because she had just locked eyes with Killer Croc… and he threatened to kill her…

And she had the feeling that he would do everything he could to follow up on his threat…

….

**Holy hell! Mel just ran into Killer Croc and got punched through a door!**

**:D**

**I hope you all liked the newest chapter of Banshee! There is definatly more to come, and from this chapter on, things get crazy. Take my word on that ;)**

**As always, reviews are appreciated as well as constructive criticism! BUT NO FLAMES!**


	5. Nightmares And False Strength

**Hello everyone! :D Here we all are again in another chapter of Banshee! I worked especially hard on this particular chapter because I was really excited to finally get down to the nitty and gritty! **

**To begin, I will thank all the kind reviewers nice enough to take the time and review! **

**Lan: Thank you so much! Here's the update! :D**

**Harlequin Shadow: I know! Killer Croc is kinda scary! Not only because of his height, but also because of his strength! But that's why we love him :D**

**Miyuki-ice-fox: Thank you so much! :D I wanted to make a real life situation, but also add the fantasy of waking up in a very dangerous place. We can't all be as tough as Batman! :D **

**Harlotie: Thank you so much! :D I plan to make this story as long as I possibly can, and I plan on making a sequel so I hope you enjoy it while it keeps going! **

**Jazz-Sparks: Thank you so much! :D I also enjoyed finding the interview tapes, and Ivy's also scared me to the point where I was like, "Ew dude." but hey, it's Ivy. And I also love how your story is going! Warren defiantly needed more love!**

**Padfoot: That is a very good question and I applaud you for asking :3 There may be sex, I have considered it and I am trying to think of ways to fit it in the story to where it would work. So the answer for now is maybe. **

**: XD Thank you so much! I love the extra love that I didn't have to pay for! :D**

**Eddslover5665: Thank you so much! And here's the craziness! :D**

**PuNlEd4Life: Thank you so much! :D I am very happy about how this story is turning out, and I am glad that everyone like's how its going! Hope you like this chapter!**

**Pradboll1526: Thank you so much! :D I am glad you like it and am sorry I made you wait so long for the update! School and whatnot… But anyway, I hope you like this chapter as well!**

**: Thank you so much! :D I try very hard to make it nice! **

**Fade-Into-Oblivion: Thank you so much, and I agree completely! I think I would go nuts looking at all those corpses ^^' and regarding Dr. Young…. I just hate her with all my heart :D I really, **_**really**_** do.**

**Superdorkwithoutacape: Thank you so much! :D And I agree that Scarecrow's insanity makes him incredibly sexy! And I love his abs :3 OM NOM NOM!**

**AutoBot NightFury: Thank you so much! And I know! I was like "Is this the door to the next room?" Then BAM he comes out of freakin nowhere and punches the glass! I died a bit inside :3 and I believe all your tape finding are a sign! **

**Artemis Queen of Stars: Thank you so much! I totally agree with you ****I would hide somewhere and just stay there for hours upon end. And I wished Johnny had better social skills, but it would be strange :3**

**JustJoking: I'm glad you like it so much! :D And Scarecrow comes back with this chapter ;)**

**Greenqueenbean: Ah but that is the mystery! :D And I'm glad you like it so much!**

**OhSoBatty: Indeed she is alive! :D And for how long, we'll see :D**

**Scared Kitten: Here you go! :D The fifth chapter!**

**Dark14life: I'm so glad you like it! :D And about the question, we'll just have to wait and see :3**

**Panda: :D I'm so glad you like it enough to check it a couple times a day! I usually do the same thing when I find a story I really like! I am also sorry that I made you wait so long, so enjoy!**

**Kira-Kun: Thank you so much! :D I believe that if you are going to write about Croc, he has to be scary and intimidating ****We wouldn't want it any other way! And you were correct that our dear Crane heard her ;)**

**Getsemone: I can't imagine how you would tell that story! :D And you were correct when you found my reference to The Road to Eldorado! XD**

**haunting wolf: Thank you so much! And I'm glad you liked it! **

**Elodie the Scribe: When I read your review I will admit that it stung a little bit, but you made a very good point! So thank you for your review! **

**NightStalkerBlade: I'm so glad you liked the last few chapters! :D And yes I already knew about Arkham City but it was still nice to hear about it again! It made me smile warmly :3**

**Damn! That was a lot of reviews! Thank you all again, and to close out my little notes, **

**I would like to say that the poll is now open and here are the results so far! :D**

**Scarecrow: 10**

**Killer Croc: 3**

**Both: 2**

**Thank you to all who voted, and I plan to close the poll by September 1****st**** probably, that is when I will need the final answer! So please try to vote by then! **

**Now without any further adieu!**

…..

A floor above Mel, a canister of gas fell to the floor with a clang.

"It must be my lucky day…" A figure murmured with a dark chuckle. A few steps later, the figure was in front of the elevator and pushing the call button repeatedly until the elevator doors opened with a ding.

The figure's right hand twitched with anticipation, leaving gruesome shadows on the elevator floor. For strapped to the figure's right hand was a gauntlet equipped with five syringes, filled to the brim with a concoction of chemicals made to simulate someone's worst fears.

Mel made a great mistake in spurring Scarecrow's attention…

Shaking with terror, Mel managed to run from the door leading to Croc's lair only to fall a few steps away and skin both of her knees along with parts of her hands. Instead of laying on the ground pathetically -like she desperately wished she could- she managed to pry herself off the floor, and hide in the office she had investigated earlier.

She had shoved the chair out of the way and hidden under the desk. Hiding from what she wasn't sure, seeing as how if Killer Croc had wanted to kill her moments ago, he would have. After seeing what he did to his cell earlier, she was sure he could break through that flimsy steel door.

She just happened to luck out, because he made no attempts of coming out of the door.

Helplessness settled in her chest like a five pound weight as she set her forehead against her thighs, clenching her eyes shut in a futile attempt to stop the tears that rushed behind her eyes.

"You will _not_ cry Melanie Muck…" She mumbled to herself, desperately trying to convince herself not to let the water works begin.

Unfortunately, her attempts were futile. The tears began to flow slowly at first, then quickly as she let everything go. Dry sobs began to escape her mouth, letting out the raw emotion she had fought in the last few hours… minutes…?

How long had she been in Arkham?

In the game, hours passed in minutes. Within a few hours of playing, a whole night had passed at Arkham, and Batman went back to Gotham to fight Two Face. Did the same thing apply to Mel?

She wasn't of their world, she didn't belong there. Maybe time applied differently to her as it did to Gotham's natural inhabitants. And if that was true, how would she get home? If she even _could_ get home…

Her frazzled mind pushed that thought aside as she began to calm down. The last thing she wanted was to begin crying about a whole other problem that could be settled later.

Finally, her sobs dulled to hiccups. She wiped furiously at her eyes with her dirty hands, spreading smears of dirt and filth along her eyes. And honestly, she felt a lot better now that she had cried.

Even though her nose was stuffed and her eyes hurt, the weight on her chest was a lot less. 'Crying is so gross.' She thought, appalled at herself for giving into her emotions and sobbing like a pathetic child. Melanie Muck was better then that….

Sniffling at her stuffed nose, she began to pull herself out from underneath the desk, minding her skinned knees and hands. Once she was completely unfolded from the desk, she turned to leave again when she caught sight of something that made her halt in her steps and let out a cry.

Taking tentative steps towards the wall, Mel began to feel her face, repulsed with what she saw. Mounted on the wall was a large mirror, showing Mel exactly what she looked like after avoiding death.

Hell, she looked like death!

This was the first time she had seen her reflection in the night, and she was shocked to find that not only did she look horrible; she had also acquired various injuries along her forehead and cheeks in addition to the ones on her body.

Her hair was a matted mess, her face was smudged and scratched, and her eyes were red and puffy. All in all, she looked like a Halloween reject that had gotten her ass kicked.

"What I wouldn't do for a comb." She murmured bitterly, surprising herself with the way her own voice came out. Sighing and running her hand along her forehead, she turned from her repulsive reflection and walked out of the office.

She had to keep moving, but this time she would keep away from the right side of the hallway.

Mel wouldn't be making that mistake again…

Staying as far away as she could from the right direction, she went left down the opposite hallway, noticing the stain she had left on the ground from when she fell. Now there was a bit of Mel in Intensive Treatment.

Despite herself, that thought made her smile.

At the end of the hall, there was the elevators she had grown to loath.

One was broken beyond repair from Harley Quinn trying to drop it on Batman. The other was going to be in service for just a bit longer, for Scarecrow would use it to get into the lower levels of Intensive Treatment to try to drop his fear gas into Killer Croc's layer.

The thought made her shiver…

Down there he would meet his doom. Or at least that's what the game hinted at. Once you followed Scarecrow into Croc's layer, you would be met with a cut scene showing Scarecrow's lithe form being snatched up by an enraged Killer Croc. He would thrash and squirm in Croc's fatal grip before Batman -being the hero we all know him to be- would throw a carefully aimed Batarang at Croc's collar.

The shock would only make Croc angrier, fueling his animalistic rage. But it would make him realize he couldn't just eat Scarecrow in front of Batman, so he would dive back into the sewage, carting a screaming Scarecrow all the way.

Contrary to this scene, at the end of the game when you beat it the first time, you see the Bat-Wing taking off towards Gotham. And in the water, there is a floating crate of Titan. As the scene is coming to an end, a hand equipped with Scarecrow's gauntlet reaches out of the water and grabs it. There are two more scenes like this one, only instead of being Scarecrow, one is Killer Croc and the other is Bane.

So Mel was sure he didn't die…

He was too damn stubborn to meet his death by Croc's hands. Plus he was supposed to make an appearance in the new game coming out, Arkham City.

She stepped over a few piles of broken glass and metal, deliberately avoiding the two elevators. They had caused her too much grief for her to even think about using one.

Just as she came to the door leading into the next room, the left elevator began coming down the shaft. Mel's eyes widened with horror. She had not called the elevator, plus it was coming from a higher floor. Who would be up there?

She flinched as the elevator dinged and opened when it reached the bottom of the shaft. If she wasn't so scared, she would've already began to run by now, but a hard as she tried she couldn't get them to move.

Foot steps padded out of the elevator, and Mel was sure a tear slid down her cheek as the figure turned to her.

She was staring down Scarecrow, and he was staring back.

Scarecrow resisted the urge to chuckle as he neared the white figure he remembered from earlier. Although now that he was close, she didn't seem so white anymore.

Her dress was tattered and torn, and stained in several places. And through the gnarled mane of hair, he could make out one very wide blue eye staring at him. She looked in every inch, a Banshee.

Yet, the girl standing before him had to be under twenty. Legally under the age requirement for Arkham Asylum. He should know. He was the head doctor at Arkham for a couple years, until the other doctors caught on to his experiments on the inmates.

Who was this girl? And how the hell did she get in Arkham?

That wasn't important at the moment though. What he really wanted to address was that heavenly sound she emitted when she was frightened. Ooh, he could still feel the goose bumps.

"So it was you who screamed." It wasn't a question nor an assumption, he was accusing her. How dare she let out such a tantalizing scream when he was trying to work? Now he would be very far behind in his trap for Batman, and she would have to pay dearly for the time she made him waste.

His needles clicked together as he skulked forward, and just as he was about to lunge at her, she turned and ran through the door into the Detox room behind her.

Grinning madly, he simply stalked after her. That room was a dead end thanks to Joker. She was cornered, so all he had to do was find her.

And he would take his sweet time doing it.

Mel felt every inch of her body seize up in terror as she felt his gaze on her. He was so close she could follow a bead of sweat running down his pale but defined chest, and could hear the air-compressor in his mask working.

Why he had it on, she didn't know. She couldn't even think right now.

"So it was you who screamed." He spoke with poison dripping from every word. Like he was charging her for some serious crime.

She blanched, not thinking that her scream could carry through floors of Intensive Treatment. Who knew how many floors he had been up, and still he heard her! Stupid mistake…

Her heart thumped wildly as he approached, walking forward much like Zsasz did. But Zsasz hadn't scared her this much, not even the thugs had scared her as much as Scarecrow did right now.

We were talking about the man who had murdered countless people using their worst fears! He wasn't even crazy, just evil. And with those horrible, evil eyes on her, she knew that her fate would be sealed if she didn't do something.

Sink or swim Mel, sink or swim.

She turned on her heel and ran wildly through the doors behind her, hoping to escape through Intensive Treatment to the outside. No way he would follow her that far, he would want to wait for Batman.

Plus, Scarecrow was more of a schemer then a doer.

Her lungs burned as she sprinted through the bottom of the room, heading frantically towards the ladders leading up to the second floor. She knew this room, it had been the first room she had done the Predator challenge on.

But this was no time to get nostalgic.

She climbed the ladder quicker then she knew she was capable of doing, and came face to face with a gruesome sight.

On a hospital transportation gurney, was the body of Frank Boles. The guard who had helped Joker get free, and kidnap Commissioner Gordon. His eyes were wide open in shock along with his mouth, giving him a very fishy appearance. But painted along his lips was a large green Joker smile.

On the floor around him were a couple of chattering Joker teeth.

And on the door behind him, a large chain reinforced with an old fashioned padlock. She was trapped like an animal, in the same room as Scarecrow.

She backed herself up against the wall behind her, quaking with fear as he climbed the ladder to the second floor and chuckled at her. Mocking her with his suave voice.

She flinched every time his needles clicked together.

"No where to run…."

Dread began to raise into her throat, and she was sure if Scarecrow wasn't in front of her she would have thrown up by now. His chuckle began to morph itself into a maniacal cackle as he seized her arm.

In complete impulse, she let out a cry and kicked him in the place where no man is meant to be kicked.

His eyes widened in shock and pain as he crumpled to the floor with a groan. "Y-You little….!" He croaked, holding his aching man-hood. Then to his surprise -and somewhat delight- he heard a body fall beside him and when he looked up he saw that she was convulsing with fear.

When she snatched her arm away, he must've scratched her.

Mel's whole world was spinning; everything around her seemed to breathe and reach out to grab at her from all directions. 'He scratched me! I'm only hallucinating!' she reminded herself shakily, but even though she knew it was just a hallucination it was still the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to her.

She clamped her hands over her eyes in an attempt to keep out the images, hoping to wait out the toxins. After all, his Nightmares only lasted for like fifteen minutes when Mel played the game. Even those weren't _that_ scary.

If she could do it behind the controller, couldn't she do it in real life?

Feeling suddenly confident, Mel opened her eyes and found she wasn't in the hallway anymore. 'Has it worn off already…?' She thought, not wanting to stress her abused voice further.

She was a in a dark, and damp place. The sound of rushing water was present, along with the thumping of something obviously very large moving towards her. Her eyes bulged at the sound of very familiar chuckle, along with the grinding of some type of substance.

'Fangs!' She screeched into her mind, trying to crawl back away from the threat now moving quicker to reach her. She moved probably two inches before her fingers were dangling in open air. The floor ended there, leaving her no where to flee.

Gulping past a lump in her throat, she was forced to look upon the creature who she now realized she was more afraid of then she thought.

"**I told you I'd find you!" **The figure lunged forward, making Mel's eyes dilate and her mouth hang open.

In a last effort to save herself she clamped her hand back over her eyes. And even though she realized she was only caught in Scarecrow's nightmare and that nothing was going to hurt her, she still felt she had to let out the loudest scream in her life, surpassing the one in Intensive Treatment.

She had forgotten that in the game, she didn't play as herself. She played as Batman, who was trained in most types of martial arts, and had gadgets to help him out of certain situations. Not to mention he had years of strength under his Bat-Belt.

And Mel was no where as strong as Batman….


	6. From One Location To Another

**Hello everyone! :D Yes I am back, and I apologize that this chapter has taken so freaking long! A lot of stuff has happened since my last update, but the bottom line is that I am back and that Banshee is **_**NOT**_** dead XD In fact, it has just barely begun. **

**So, I took a gander at the poll and was not surprised to find that Scarecrow took the cake in it, so this is now officially a ScarecrowX Oc story, with a bit of Killer Croc thrown in because I love his character ;] **

**But I also love Scarecrow's character which is why this chapter is focused more on him then Mel! **

**Now before we begin, I'll answer all the reviews again~**

**Tambourine: I AGREE. Thanks for reading XD**

**Kijo Kurosaki: I'm glad I inspired you to love Scarecrow! :D He is fabulous and deserves more love! And don't worry, Mel will eventually run into Batman :3 eventually~ Thanks for reading!**

**Anarchy: Thank you so much! I actually bred Mel to feel more natural so she wouldn't be a Mary-Sue, to have fears an actual emotions. ****And yes I do plan on having a sequel, however it might have to wait until I actually play and beat Arkham City because I want to have a good feel for the game **

**BrokenAngelHearts: Thank you so much! XD I actually loved writing that part because I love writing the Riddler, he can be so childish! Looove him 3**

**Sapphire The Legendary Child: Why thank you! :D Here is the next chapter and I hope you like it!**

**Autobot Traitor: Here is the update! :D Thanks for the push!**

**Fand1: Here is the next chapter! Hope you like it!**

**Tri-Canine: Thank you! I hope you like this chapter as well!**

**Heehee Crane: Here is all the Jonathan you can handle!**

**YinYangAnimeLover: Thank you so much for the review! :D And here is the next chapter, I hope you like it as much as the first few, and your vote has been counted!**

**Panda: Here is the update for your viewing delight! FEAST YOUR EYES!**

**Fade-Into-Oblivion: No I'm afraid our poor Mel can't get a break :3 that wouldn't be fun! And yes, she is a loud screamer, but I know a few people who can scream louder then that! XD Here's the update!**

**LadySuburu: Thank you so much! :D here's the update!**

**TeamXtrek: Thank you! And your vote has been counted ;D**

**Chesirecat900: Here's the update for you! Hope you like it!**

**XBlackDahiliax 0.0 wouldn't want that! Heres the update!**

**Zinmei: Congrats on beating AA! I love the game personally, and I'm glad you like the story! XD And here's the update, hope you like it!**

**Mrs. Murphy: Thank you so much! I was having so much fun writing them, and was happy to see all the reviews! XD Hope you like this chapter too! And I would be happy to do a joint fic with Artemis Queen Of Stars! **

**Harlequin Shadow: Neither do I, it would be personally awful! D: **

**OhSoBatty: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! And don't worry the relationship will be a little rocky at first but it will be ok :3 Hope you like the update!**

**Greenqueenbean: Thank you, I'm glad you liked the chapter! And I hope you like this one even more!**

**Panda: As I said before I would love to do a fic with Artemis Queen Of Stars, ****That would be awesome, because I am also a fan of hers. **

**Padfoot: I'm glad you liked it! And I hope you like this chapter more!**

**Nedlovesyou: Thank you I'm glad you liked it! :D Here's the update!**

**Kira-kun: Thank you so much! I smiled while reading your review, and it actually helped me write this chapter! :D I hope it stands up to my other chapters in comparison!**

**Panda: Yes I do feel bad for poor Scarecrows…*ahem* neither reasons… but it's what a person would do if being chased! So, that's how it happened :3 I hope you like this chapter!**

**MegamanSora: Thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter!**

**Miyuki-ice-fox: Thank you so much! I must say, your review really brightened my day and made me smile because you noticed the little deatails I like to throw in! So thank you for that! And your vote towards Scarecrow has been counted :3 and I loved Muck for Mel's last name because it was so unique in itself XD Gotta love it!**

**Superdorkwithoutacape: Thank you so much and I have a problem with making cliffhangers XD I do that without even knowing it…**

**Artemis Queen Of Stars: I know right! XD And I'm glad you liked it! **

**Jazz-Sparks: Thank you so much! I cannot imagine how much I would be torn up by running around Arkham! And thank you for noticing all the little game quirks I throw in :3 they are so fun to push in. And I am so impressed with your writing of White because like you said he actually is a really hard to write :3**

**Autobot Nightfury: I agree! Croc is my favorite beast in Batman, gotta love him! And he's really fun to write too! And here is my update for ya!**

**JoeEngland: May I just say that I really enjoyed reading your review! :D And I completely agree with Mel going a bit insane, because madness spreads like a rash. **

**Getsemone: Take a peek at this chapter and find out! :DD**

Jonathan Crane was many things.

He was smart, good looking, suave and of course a ruthless villain. His methods of torture far surpassed any of the other inhabitants of Arkham, if he did say so himself.

He was clearly better then everyone in Arkham. Including the guards and that hack Quincy. But, it was the inmates he was truly in competition with. And even though no one said it, he knew that every inmate was trying to outdo the next.

Who was smarter, more ruthless, quicker, better. As barbaric as it sounded, this was the way Arkham worked.

He was far more calculating then any other inmate, especially Killer Croc; he was just an _animal_. Even Jonathan wasn't sure why he loathed the mutated inmate so. Maybe it was… -dare he say it- fear? Of course not. Jonathan Crane _**was**_ fear.

Clearly he outwitted that imbecile Nygma. 'The Riddler' may have thought he was the most brilliant mind in Gotham, but in reality he was a narcissistic fool. After all, he was the one who was thrown into Arkham more then anyone else due to his childish nature. From time to time he even threw tantrums. Oh yes, Jonathan has a special hatred for Edward Nygma.

His methods of planning also surpassed Joker. He was just a clown with no style nor grace. Enough said.

And as for Dent… well he beat him in basically everything didn't he?

The others he didn't even feel he had to mention. They were at the bottom of the Arkham Status Quo while he was almost at the top. And when he _did_ kill the Batman, it would tell the others how inferior they truly were.

Ok, so Jonathan Crane wasn't humble.

But he also wasn't an idiot, or impulsive. Which is why he was so surprised that he was actually hauling the trembling Banshee across the floor by her foot into the elevator. From what he could see she was still somewhat conscious, and she didn't look to be having a nice time.

'_Serves her right'_ reminded the ache between his legs. Oh, she would pay for that later. After a few doses of his fear serum and gas her pretty little mind would break. Then he would simply dispose of her fear-stricken shell.

Maybe he would give her to Croc… As it happened Scarecrow was feeling particularly environmental today, and dumping bodies into the Gotham Lake was beginning to pollute it.. Whilst Croc would leave nothing uneaten. That was one of the few things the large _**creature**_ was good for.

Casting a look over his shoulder at her, he took satisfaction in the fact that tears were still falling from her eyes even though she was trying desperately to hide her face in her hands. If he had to guess, he suspected that she was trying to block out the images in her head by covering her eyes. Something many people did their first times being gassed.

The thought made him smirk beneath his mask.

"Fear exists in the one place you can't escape it my dear, your mind." he purred, tapping his needles against her now bare right leg. It appeared that when he dragged her to the elevator her dress had slipped up a bit exposing her legs up to her thighs.

Just a little higher and he would get a peak at what was underneath…

Frowning at his thoughts he jerked her leg roughly, basking in the sound of her melodious whimpers of pain and fear. He jabbed his thumb onto the 4th floor button then proceeded to yank her leg again for good measure.

As the rusted elevator creaked into motion, he finally turned his gaze upon the young girl who he has promptly drug along with him. She was currently curled up on the floor, with only her right leg sticking out due to his iron grip on her ankle.

He was still confused at how she had entered in Arkham, and planned to interrogate her thoroughly once the Batman was dead. And if he had time he would also teach her some manners for that nasty attitude she had displayed towards him.

Clicking his tongue disapprovingly, he leaned in closer to croon at her trembling form. "Poor little Banshee…wandering a world of your worst fears. Tell me, how does it feel to face everything you're terrified of?" He cooed, jerking her leg impatiently when she didn't answer right away. He was a man who didn't like to be kept waiting.

After another minute of quiet whimpering she managed to respond. Although quiet, he could still make out, "D-don't eat me…"

He couldn't help but cackle at the one broken whisper as it escaped from her lips. Patting her leg approvingly, the elevator dinged and the doors creaked open. Sighing, he realized he couldn't play with his new little toy all day.

There was work to be done after all.

And Batman was his first priority. _Nothing_ would come before his destruction.

So when the doors fully opened, he dragged his prize across the floor again towards one of the offices that were now vacant due to Joker's takeover. 'Perhaps one of his better haphazard ideas.' He thought cynically, ending it a snort.

With a few flexes of his now muscled arms, he flung Banshee across the room into one of the walls. She didn't weigh much which is probably why he was able to throw her so far, it still made him a bit proud though.

A sound of pain escaped her mouth as she curled up in a ball once again. In a fleeting moment he regarded -with much pride- that he had left a hand shaped bruise around her flimsy ankle.

Stalking across the room, he came to her curled form and kneeled down next to her and spoke with fake gentleness. "Now, you stay here while Daddy finishes working. Then we'll finish what we started hm?"

With that said he let out an amused cackle then walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him. Once he was out, he position a chair under the knob so she wouldn't escape before he ended her life.

Wouldn't want that…

Not to mention that a pocket of wanton delight had began pooling in his mind at the thought of a new subject to play with.

If she thought his fear gas was bad, wait until she got a taste of what he had planned for the little white nuisance.


End file.
